The Quest
Once upon a time there was an American admirer of A Month in the Country who was perplexed to find that this gem was unavailable in the United States. Even Netflix had apparently never heard of it. She turned to Google for more information. There she learned that all the early VHS releases of the movie, as well as the current DVD in Europe, were incomplete. Then she stumbled on the story of Glyn Watkins and his dogged search for the film across England, which in 2004 had finally turned up a single battered print.
The American’s curiosity was roused. Research was her hobby. Surely the original of a film only 20 years old could not have entirely disappeared — Hollywood historians are still reconstructing lost masterpieces from the silent era! Surely somewhere a clean, complete print of this small English film was lying coiled in cans, patiently waiting to be discovered.
She decided to search for it. As in all classic tales, she was soon joined by a fellow seeker, this one endowed with a magic bag of graphic skills. Working together across the internet (they’ve never met) they built this website to alert others to the tiny crusade for A Month in the Country.
The Challenge
The task ahead is threefold:
• to confirm no negative of A Month in the Country still exists (some archivists find this hard to believe)
• if not, to find a complete print of excellent quality
• to convince Channel 4 to invest in a remastering and new DVD release.
The Vision
In 1987 Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh were dismissed in one review of A Month in the Country as “international unknowns.” Today, however, they are major stars with devoted fans around the world.
It is our hope that these fans and other lovers of A Month in the Country will join in this quest to see Pat O’Connor’s “little jewel of a period piece” rereleased in its entirety in honor of its 20th anniversary. Please follow the links at left and write to Channel Four!
we're getting closer...
